Five Ways To Get More Cash From Your Business

Five Ways To Get More Cash From Your Business

AZ Business Magazine by Jerry Mills   As CEO of B2B CFO®, I regularly talk about our motto which is, “Cash. We help you get it®”. When talking about how we help our clients get more cash, I find that there is generally a misconception. Most people think that there are only two ways to get more cash: the first one being taking a traditional route of talking to banks about loans, and the second trying to get an investor to infuse more cash into your business. I am going to present to you five ways to get more cash from your business. These five steps do not involve taking on more debt nor do they involve diluting your equity: 1. Try to cut back on costs Yes, this is a pretty obvious way to get more cash into your business, but it does take a concerted effort. One of the easiest ways to cut cost is to ask your service providers to re-bid for your business. Just because they are working with you now doesn’t mean that they are the best fit for your business in terms of cost or relationship. This can be particularly true in the following areas: insurance, benefits, telephone, credit card services and office supplies. These are all examples that can be negotiated and significant cost savings realized. Saving even three or four percent of operating expenses can be the difference between breaking even and generating significant cash. 2. Sell more or charge more This may seem obvious, but you might find there is less opposition than you may think. Look at what your competition is...
Jerry Mills: Breakthrough CFO Model

Jerry Mills: Breakthrough CFO Model

The company’s upcoming 25th anniversary and a recent string of awards are solid validation of the pioneering concept on which Jerry Mills, founder and chief executive officer of Phoenix-based B2B CFO, founded his company. By Alison Stanton| October 31, 2011 The company’s upcoming 25th anniversary and a recent string of awards are solid validation of the pioneering concept on which Jerry Mills, founder and chief executive officer of Phoenix-based B2B CFO, founded his company. Back in the mid-1980s, while he was a manager with Arthur Andersen & Company, Mills came up with the idea of creating a company that would provide CFO services to small and mid-market companies, offering business owners solutions that would help improve any cash flow issues as well as the overall organization of the company. To support his theories, Mills developed a model of micro- and macro-economics that looked at the concept of “typical consulting” as it related to the point of diminishing marginal returns. His idea was to help alleviate the stress levels of business owners while simultaneously improving their sales and profits through the services of a part-time CFO. But when he pitched the concept of CFO services to his co-workers, he recalls, they weren’t as excited about it as he was. “It just wasn’t what they did at Arthur Andersen,” Mills says. “They concentrated mainly on audits and tax returns, and so this just didn’t fit in with the type of work that they did.” Undaunted, Mills decided to launch his own company based on his theories and research. “I thought it was a great idea, so I did it solely on...
Interview With Jerry Mills: Take a Break to Be Productive

Interview With Jerry Mills: Take a Break to Be Productive

SOURCE: Small Business Trends BY: Susan Payton DATE: 10/17/2011 You might not expect the author of two business books, speaker, contributor, and founder of B2B CFO(r) to be into yoga and tai chi, but thats exactly what helps Jerry Mills stay balanced between work and life. He practices regularly and also strives to read nonfiction books: “I often have my most creative business ideas after I have lost myself for a few hours in a good murder mystery. It seems that the human mind needs a break in order to be most productive.” And productive he is. His firm, B2B CFO(r), provides part-time CFO services to small and midsized businesses. Currently, the company boasts 200 B2B Partners who serve more than 750 clients with combined annual sales totaling $5 billion dollars. In the next five years, Mills expects to have 400 partners and $45 million in sales. Its no wonder he made the list of Small Business Influencer Champions this year. Mills attributes his firms success to recruiting top professionals, being on the cutting edge of technology and hiring a stellar public relations firm. Jumping in With Both Feet Mills was reluctant to start his business back in 1987, but some valuable advice got him moving: “A man named Roger gave me some good advice. He said, Jerry, the hardest thing you need to do is to make the decision. Once you make the decision, everything else will fall into place about what you need to do to grow your business. He was 100 percent correct.” And while technology is a huge part of B2B CFOs(r) platform now, if...
Finding Financial Solutions

Finding Financial Solutions

SOURCE: GO GILBERT! MAGAZINE DATE: 09/21/2011 Businesses in the spotlight Finding Financial Solutions: Jerry Mills uses his expertise to give corporate-level financial support to small and mid-size businesses By: SUSAN LANIER-GRAHAM In the mid-1980s, Jerry Mills was a manager at the accounting giant Arthur Anderson & Company in Phoenix. He examined the market and found a very real gap in support for mid-market companies. Mills realized that businesses often fall into traps in a time of growth because of the inability to manage cash flow effectively. While that management job falls to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in larger corporations, budgets don’t usually allow small and mid-sized businesses to fill that role. That’s where Mills knew he could help. In 1987, he launched B2B CFO to offer financial and management solutions to small and medium-sized companies. “Every company needs a CFO, but not every company can afford one. Our model makes it possible,” Mills explains. “Just as a company doesn’t need a full-time attorney, it doesn’t need a full-time CFO. We are there when they need us.” He adds that his company strives to provide customers with a sophisticated service at a cost they can afford. What began out of his home two decades ago now has more than 174 partners across the country, servicing more than 550 clients with combined annual sales totaling $5 billion and employing 30,000 people. For the second year in a row, Inc. magazine has named B2B CFO to the Inc. 500/5000 list of fastest-growing companies in America. “To be awarded this, especially during a recession, is quite an accomplishment,” Mills explains. “It’s also...
B2B CFO Ranks in Arizona’s Top 25 Fastest Growing Comapnies

B2B CFO Ranks in Arizona’s Top 25 Fastest Growing Comapnies

B2BCF0 RANK: No. 23 on the fast-growth list FOUNDER AND CEO: Jerry Mills HQ: Phoenix FOUNDED: 1987 EMPLOYEES: 197 partners across 39 states and four full-time employees in Mesa  REVENUE INCREASE, 2009-10: 46.5 percent Q&A with founder Jerry L. Mills How do you maintain fast growth through the years? Maintaining steady, fast growth has been a matter of setting goals and then working diligently to build an infrastructure that supports our team and allows us to achieve our goals. It is also a matter of constant evaluation and making periodic adjustments to the process of the goal achievement. For example, when new technologies become available or when a process can be improved, we need to always adjust our course — first direction, then velocity. How does growth become a part of your business culture? I review my goals weekly. I also leverage the expertise and help from a personal coach who goes over my goals with me and helps me augment and expand them, causing me to stretch and grow at all times. I go over our goal achievements each month with the staff so the team will constantly have our progress in front of them. Making sure everyone knows the direction and the goals is crucial to our success. Looking out 12 months, what is your greatest obstacle to continued growth? I see absolutely no obstacles that will impede our ability to achieve and meet our...